Chelsea’s win sees them through to the semi-finals where they will be the favourites to advance past Southampton. Having reached the final last year, Conte is hoping his side can go all the way after losing to Arsenal last May.

‘We showed great will and a great desire to fight and to reach the semi-final.

‘We must be pleased with the character we showed against a really good team.

‘This trophy is very important for this country. Last season it was a pity to lose in the final. This season our target is to reach the final again.

‘And if we reach the final, I want to change the final result compared to last season.’

One word succinctly describes what's transpired so far in the NCAA Tournament:

Madness.

But even that's probably underselling it.

A comeback for the ages by Nevada. An entire region left without a Top 4 seed in the Sweet 16 for the first time in tourney history. The 16-seed winner UMBC, falling short in its attempt to extend its historic run as underdog darlings. Oh, and defending national champion North Carolina is out, routed in its own state by Texas A&M.

And that was just on Sunday. When No. 1 seed Xavier was bounced, too.

A memorable, zany first two rounds — even by March Madness standards — set up what could be another wild two weekends in a tournament where anything can become reality.

"It's what makes March Madness special and it kills the coaches because it's so hard and you think you have a great team," Kansas State coach Bruce Weber said. "It's March Madness and you never know what's going to happen."

Before the first tipoff on Thursday, many prognosticators had deemed this tournament one of the most wide-open in recent history.

It's turned into a nutty, once-in-a-generation kind of ride.

Loyola-Chicago won two thrillers to get to the Sweet 16, making a social media star out of their 98-year-old chaplain, Sister Jean. And then the telegenic nun who provides her own scouting reports to players got overshadowed by the ultimate Cinderella team.

The UMBC Retrievers became the first No. 16 seed in the history of the men's tournament to beat a No. 1 seed, defeating Virginia in the first round Friday night.

By 20 points. Over the top overall seed and the unanimous No. 1 team in the AP poll.

The Retrievers' run came to an end on Sunday night in a 50-43 loss to ninth-seeded Kansas State, but not before tattooing a lasting imprint on American sports, drawing attention from stars of the NFL, NBA and Twitch — and love from underdogs everywhere.

"We put our name on the map. We (gave) hope to teams that come to the tournament with lower seeds," guard K.J. Maura said.

UMBC's success story contributed to the messy, unprecedentedly jumbled bracket in the South Region, where the highest-remaining seed is No. 5 Kentucky. It's the first time in tourney history that a regional semifinal will be held without a top 4 seed, according to the NCAA.

Seventh-seeded Nevada added to that by matching the second-biggest comeback in tournament history to beat No. 2 seed Cincinnati 75-73 after trailing by 22 points in the second half.

"That locker room right now, I've never seen anything like it in my life. It's the happiest I've ever seen. It's the happiest I've ever been in my life," Wolf Pack coach Eric Musselman said.

The way reigning champion North Carolina got bounced from the tournament in an 86-65 loss to Texas A&M might have been the top storyline on any other tournament day. It left coach Roy Williams with the most lopsided tournament loss of his Hall of Fame career.

It was also the second straight year the titleholder lost before the Sweet 16. And it happened in UNC-friendly territory in Charlotte, North Carolina, where the Tar Heels hadn't lost a tourney game since 1979.

"I didn't picture it ending it like this," said Williams with his players sitting nearby. "I pictured it ending with these guys having a huge smile on their face, but that's not college basketball."

WHO'S LEFT: A look at the teams and matchups for the Sweet 16 by region.

CALL IT A COMEBACK: Nevada's comeback from a 22-point deficit matched Duke's rally after beating Maryland in the 2001 Final Four. The biggest comeback belongs to BYU, which trailed by 25 points before beating Iona in the 2012 First Four.

"You know, just obviously we didn't think 16 was going to … beat a 1," Weber said. "You thought it would be a little different situation, but we just said we could write history tonight. No 9 has ever beaten a 16 to go to the Sweet 16, so we wrote our own history tonight."

The Aggies manhandled North Carolina in Charlotte in surprisingly easy fashion to get to the round of 16 for the second time in three seasons. After holding a 47-36 edge on the glass, Texas A&M should scare a Michigan team that has had to slog through two victories and deliver a buzzer-beater 3 to get to the Sweet 16.

In Detroit, Syracuse tuned out the noise from a Michigan State-partisan crowd for a 55-53 win . The Orange's trademark 2-3 zone gave another unfamiliar opponent fits after holding the more talented Spartans to 26 percent shooting.

An NCAA tourney run that started with the First Four in Dayton for Syracuse will continue against Duke in the Sweet 16 in Omaha, Nebraska.

TWO ONES ARE DONE: Two No. 1 seeds didn't make it out of the tournament's opening weekend for the first time since 2004, when Stanford and Kentucky both lost in the second round.

This time around, Virginia and Xavier were the top seeds that were bounced.

The Cavaliers went home on Friday after the historic loss to No. 16 seed UMBC. The Musketeers gave up a 12-point lead on Sunday and fell to Florida State, 75-70. It was a disappointing ending for a program that returned four starters from a team that lost in the Elite Eight last year to Gonzaga.

The only other years when two top seeds lost in the first weekend were 1981 and 2000.

———

More AP college basketball: https://collegebasketball.ap.org ; https://twitter.com/AP—Top25 and https://www.podcastone.com/ap-sports-special-events

]]>http://germanylatest.com/2018/03/19/what-just-happened-ncaas-amp-up-the-march-madness/feed/0Large storm system to bring severe weather to Southhttp://germanylatest.com/2018/03/19/large-storm-system-to-bring-severe-weather-to-south/
http://germanylatest.com/2018/03/19/large-storm-system-to-bring-severe-weather-to-south/#respondMon, 19 Mar 2018 18:45:11 +0000http://germanylatest.com/2018/03/19/large-storm-system-to-bring-severe-weather-to-south/ A large storm system is moving through the Great Plains on Monday morning bringing unsettled weather from the Dakotas all the way to the southeastern United States.

Yesterday, more than three dozen damaging storm reports were made, most of them in east-central Texas where hail was larger than a baseball. There were also two reported tornadoes in the Texas panhandle and winds of 60 mph or greater in eastern Texas.

On the northern side of the storm, heavy snow fell around Denver, with anywhere from 5 to 10 inches overnight in the metro area.

The storm system is moving east Monday, and is now stretching from the Northern Plains to the Gulf Coast. To the north, snow is falling in the Dakotas while tornado warnings have been issued for part of the Florida panhandle.

The storm system will move further east Monday afternoon, and will pick up moisture from the Gulf of Mexico. Severe storms will break out from Jacksonville, Florida, to Atlanta; Birmingham, Alabama; and into Nashville, Tennessee.

The biggest threat will be huge damaging hail, tornadoes and wind. Flash flooding is also possible.

The biggest threat for tornadoes will be from Nashville to Birmingham and just west of Atlanta this afternoon and evening.

As the storm moves east on Tuesday, a coastal low will try to develop in the southern Mid-Atlantic states producing a first wave of rain and snow from Washington, D.C. north into Pennsylvania and west into West Virginia. Several inches of snow is possible just west of Washington, D.C.

By Tuesday night into Wednesday, as the coastal low strengthens, it will produce a second wave of rain and snow, spreading along the I-95 corridor from Washington, D.C. into New York City and Boston.

Models are still not very confident where the low will form and how much snow or rain will fall in the heavily populated I-95 corridor. If major cities get precipitation, it would be mostly be on Wednesday.

The American model isn't showing much snow for the major cities — maybe a dusting to 1 to 2 inches on Wednesday.

The European model has a different forecast with heavy snow accumulations for the major Northeast cities, but ABC News meteorologists predict the model is probably overdoing these amounts.

The short-term American model is showing the storm missing Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and New York City, with maybe some snow accumulations along the Mid-Atlantic coast and into Cape Cod.

It could go either way, but confidence is growing that some sort of storm system will form along the East Coast.

]]>http://germanylatest.com/2018/03/19/large-storm-system-to-bring-severe-weather-to-south/feed/0All 6 victims of Miami bridge collapse identifiedhttp://germanylatest.com/2018/03/19/all-6-victims-of-miami-bridge-collapse-identified/
http://germanylatest.com/2018/03/19/all-6-victims-of-miami-bridge-collapse-identified/#respondMon, 19 Mar 2018 18:45:09 +0000http://germanylatest.com/2018/03/19/all-6-victims-of-miami-bridge-collapse-identified/ The last two of the six people killed when a newly-installed pedestrian bridge collapsed at Florida International University in Miami were identified Sunday.

FIU President Mark Rosenberg named Brandon Brownfield, a married father of three, as the final victim to be identified after Thursday's catastrophe.

"It's a pretty magical thing to find your soulmate in this world. Like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, our crazy curvy edges matched and we fit together like no one else could," Brownfield's wife of nearly four years, Chelsea Brownfield, wrote in a Facebook post on Sunday.

"I keep trying to find the words to share with you — our friends and family — but nothing feels right," she added. "I want to thank you all for your continuous love and support and prayers over the last 3 days. The coming days are going to be excruciating, as we dig deep to find the strength we need to heal. Please keep us in your prayers, as I now have to find the words and the answers to tell my girls that their Daddy is not coming home."

Brownfield worked as a tower crane technician for Maxim Crane Works and was killed when the bridge fell on his truck as he was driving to his home in Homestead, Florida, a friend, Ryan Lee, wrote on an online GoFundMe page he established for Brownfield's family.

Early Sunday, Miami-Dade Police confirmed that Alexa Duran, an 18-year-old student at FIU, was also killed when the 174-foot long prefabricated span broke into pieces and came crashing down on cars stopped underneath it for a traffic light.

Police confirmed early Sunday that Duran died in the collapse. Her body was recovered about 5:12 p.m. Saturday when firefighters removed her gray Toyota 4Runner from the rubble and found her inside.

Her family had informed reporters on Friday that she was among those killed when the 950-ton bridge collapsed on top of at least eight cars stopped under the span waiting for a red traffic light to change.

"Rest In Peace my sweet little sister. Words cannot describe how heavy my heart is," Alexa's sister, Dina Duran, wrote in an Instagram post on Saturday. "I would give anything to take your place and all of your pain. I will cherish every memory we've made and will miss you every day for the rest of my life. A piece of my heart is with you. Heaven is a better and funnier place with you in it. May your beautiful soul rest with the Angels my love. I will see you again soon."

Rosenberg, meanwhile, called for a moment of silence tomorrow to honor the victims and console their grieving families.

The bodies of three victims — Rolando Fraga Hernandez, Oswald Gonzalez and Alberto Arias — were found Saturday morning after crews removed two cars from the rubble, according to Miami-Dade police. Another victim, Navarro Brown, died at a hospital, police said.

Before police officially identified Rolando Fraga Hernandez as being among the dead on Saturday, his nephew, Jorge Fraga, told ABC News he planned to hold out hope until there was none left.

"I’m trying not to think he isn’t there," Fraga said.

Police said Hernandez's body was found about 5:40 a.m. Saturday when his gold Jeep Cherokee was removed from the debris.

Authorities said at a press conference late Saturday the six people who died in Thursday's bridge collapse were recovered and they did not expect to find any other victims.

In a video statement released Sunday, Rosenberg named all of the victims and called for a moment of silence at 1:47 p.m. on Monday, the exact time the collapse occurred on Thursday.

"Our hearts continue to ache for the victims of the bridge collapse," Rosenberg said. "Futures and families have been shattered."

He said the university has "a sense of urgency about getting to the bottom of this accident."

"Right now our focus is on the victims' families and doing everything in our power to comfort and support them," Rosenberg said. "It's going to take time for us to and our community to heal."

A total of eight cars were trapped under the bridge after it crumbled, including six that were "significantly entangled," authorities said.

Maurice Kemp, deputy mayor of Miami-Dade County, said the primary goal was to remove all victims and cars in a "dignified and respectful manner."

FIU had touted the pedestrian bridge as one of the first of its kind, tweeting that it swung into place March 10.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the bridge collapse, but have yet to release a cause.

On Friday, NTSB investigator Robert Accetta said work crews were applying post-tensioning force on the bridge support cables when the span collapsed, but investigators aren't sure if that's what caused the bridge to fall.

Officials also said Friday that an engineer left a voicemail with the Florida Department of Transportation two days before the bridge collapsed, reporting that cracks had been found at one end of the concrete span.

The voicemail wasn't picked up until after the collapse, however. NTSB officials are investigating the report, but said it's not clear if cracks contributed to the bridge's catastrophic failure.

]]>http://germanylatest.com/2018/03/19/all-6-victims-of-miami-bridge-collapse-identified/feed/0Glee star’s outrage over ‘abused dog’ on film sethttp://germanylatest.com/2018/03/19/glee-stars-outrage-over-abused-dog-on-film-set/
http://germanylatest.com/2018/03/19/glee-stars-outrage-over-abused-dog-on-film-set/#respondMon, 19 Mar 2018 18:45:07 +0000http://germanylatest.com/2018/03/19/glee-stars-outrage-over-abused-dog-on-film-set/A dog was whipped "into a frenzy" and thrown into an icy river in a locked cage for a scene in a film, a whistleblower has claimed.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has released a video purporting to show a German Shepherd in a cage being spun around by a crane before being thrown into a lake.

The unnamed whistleblower claims the footage was taken on 28 November last year on the set of Crazy Alien, a Ning Hao film which is currently listed as being in post-production.

Glee actor Matthew Morrison, who stars in the movie, said he has called the producers to "express his outrage" at the incident.

Meanwhile, the whistleblower has called the incident the "one of the worst animal cruelty acts (I) have ever seen".

The anonymous witness said the dog had been "tormented into a frenzy" to get him to bark loudly, before being locked in a small metal cage, then hoisted up by a crane.

Image:Ning Hao's film Crazy Alien is currently in post-production

The whistleblower's account read: "The second the dog cage rose into the air, the dog stopped barking instantly as the cables were used to spin the cage out of control in circles before solidly landing 40ft away. The director took many takes and this was just awful to witness as the torment went on."

The whistleblower added: "The next shot was at the river's edge where the dog was put back into his cage and tormented into a frenzy once again. This time … the cage … was hoisted 20 ft. and was flung while spinning out of control towards the river. … [T]he cage was completely submerged with the dog in it landing in a 10 mph current.

"After 5-8 seconds, the director yelled out 'cut' . … A final decision was made by the director to shoot a second identical take. I could not believe my eyes."

PETA said this continued for two hours without the animal having a break.

A PETA statement read: "Adding insult to injury, Crazy Alien is already using special effects (hence the word "Alien" in the title), so there's no excuse for not using computer-generated imagery for the dog scene, as well.

"Why was this animal subjected to fear and suffering? Because when it comes to entertainment, animals are viewed as nothing more than props, and there are no laws protecting them on film sets in China."

The organisation has called for the scene to be cut, and for Morrison to donate his salary to charity.

Image:Matthew Morrison, who stars in the film, said he called the producers to express outrage

Morrison tweeted: "I've just been made aware and seen a video from the set of a film I worked on in China. My heart is broken to see any animal treated this way. Had I been on set or known about this, I would have made all efforts to stop this. I've called the producers to express my outrage."

A spokesman for Dirty Monkey Studios said: "We feel sorry that we didn't do our best to avoid this. We treat all the cast and crew including animals with utmost respect for their contribution of amazing performance to the project."

According to E, the Crazy Alien Production Company explained that the cage was meant to move over the water but not be submerged, and it fell because of a "miscalculation".

More from World

The statement added: "Then, before fully diagnosing the mechanical problem, a second take was requested.

"This was a mistake. The dog's welfare should have been paramount, and any potential risks should have been diagnosed and eliminated before the dog was again called upon to undertake the scene. We sincerely apologise…despite mistakes in filming, the dog was well cared for on set."

]]>http://germanylatest.com/2018/03/19/glee-stars-outrage-over-abused-dog-on-film-set/feed/0Boy shoots sister in row over game controllerhttp://germanylatest.com/2018/03/19/boy-shoots-sister-in-row-over-game-controller/
http://germanylatest.com/2018/03/19/boy-shoots-sister-in-row-over-game-controller/#respondMon, 19 Mar 2018 18:45:07 +0000http://germanylatest.com/2018/03/19/boy-shoots-sister-in-row-over-game-controller/A nine-year-old boy has shot his sister in the back of the head in an argument over a video game controller.

Authorities in Mississippi said the child grabbed the gun when he wanted the controller and his sister did not hand it to him.

The girl, named in media reports as Dijonae White, was rushed to hospital after the bullet entered her brain.

Monroe County Sheriff Cecil Cantrell told local media the girl later died.

Local media reported that neighbours were shocked by the incident, while a family member described Dijonae as a "great girl".

On Facebook members of the community voiced concerns about the availability of guns and the presence of video games, while others simply offered prayers for the girl and her family.

It is not known how the child was able to access the gun, authorities said, but the circumstances of the incident are being investigated.

More from Mississippi

The children's mother is believed to have been feeding other children when the shooting took place, it was reported.

Sheriff Cecil Cantrell told WTVA that he was unsure what consequences the boy would face, adding he was unaware of a case where a child had shot another in a similar manner.

]]>http://germanylatest.com/2018/03/19/boy-shoots-sister-in-row-over-game-controller/feed/0Latest Austin blast may have been triggered by tripwire, police sayhttp://germanylatest.com/2018/03/19/latest-austin-blast-may-have-been-triggered-by-tripwire-police-say/
http://germanylatest.com/2018/03/19/latest-austin-blast-may-have-been-triggered-by-tripwire-police-say/#respondMon, 19 Mar 2018 18:45:06 +0000http://germanylatest.com/2018/03/19/latest-austin-blast-may-have-been-triggered-by-tripwire-police-say/For the fourth time this month, a device exploded on residents in the Texas capital. What makes this blast especially terrifying is that it was left on the side of a residential road and may have been triggered by a tripwire, Austin Police Chief Brian Manley said. The three previous bombs were stuffed inside packages and left on residents' doorsteps. And unlike the victims of the previous blasts, the two men injured in Sunday's explosion are white, Austin police said. Both men are expected to recover. "The use of a tripwire is far less discriminating than leaving parcel bombs at residences and suggests that the latest victims were not specifically targeted," said Stratfor Threat Lens, a global think tank. "The device's success, despite significantly different design, further suggests that the bombmaker behind these attacks is an accomplished one, and has likely to have received some training, perhaps as a military or police explosive ordnance disposal technician."This latest attack has even impacted area schoolchildren. The Austin public school district says it can't send buses to the affected neighborhood Monday because of police activity. "Any tardies or absences due to this situation will be excused," the district said. Now, investigators are trying to determine if the person responsible is linked to the trio of bombings this month that killed two people and wounded two others. "The entire community is anxious this morning," Austin Mayor Steve Adler said Monday. Austin bombings: Live updates

Latest developments

"As the bombmaker changes up design and geography, all residents of Austin and surrounding areas should avoid suspicious items," Stratfor says.

Residents living near the scene must stay indoors until 10 a.m. CT Monday.

The two injured men were either biking or pushing bicycles when the explosion occurred.

'Extra level of vigilance' needed

The circumstances of Sunday's blast were different from previous explosions, the police chief said. "We're not believing that this was similar to previous ones, as in packages left on doorsteps. But instead, this was some type of suspicious package that was left on the side of the road, that detonated and injured these two men," Manley said.The men had been biking or walking their bicycles in southwest Austin when the explosion happened."What we do understand now, is that the possibility exists this device was triggered in a different mechanism — that being a tripwire," he said. The latest explosion comes less than a week after police said three previous package explosions — in a span of 10 days — were connected. Those explosions killed a man and a teenager, and injured two others.The victims in those three explosions were African-American or Hispanic. Police have not yet discovered a motive, but have not ruled out the possibility those bombings could be hate crimes. Police are working under the belief that the explosions are related. Manley said they'll get a better idea with a post-blast analysis and examination of the device components. In the meantime, Manley told residents not to touch or go near anything that looks suspicious. "We now need the community to have an extra level of vigilance and pay attention to any suspicious device — whether it be a package or a bag, a backpack — anything that looks out of place," Manley said Monday. "Do not approach items like that.

'It's a family neighborhood'

Stan Malachowski, who lives about half a mile away from the blast Sunday, said he heard a loud explosion. "It was loud enough to hear inside of our house with our windows and door shut. Again, airplanes go by and cars backfire so we didn't think much of it," he told CNN affiliate KXAN. "This is a quiet neighborhood. It's a family neighborhood. It's concerning." Police warned residents in the immediate area to stay inside their homes until at least 10 a.m. Monday. All three entrances to the neighborhood have been blocked off.Regents School of Austin, a nearby private school, will open two hours late Monday for "a complete security sweep," it said in a statement. Many in Austin have been on edge since the bombings, as some residents of color say they feel under threat.But unlike the first three bombings, which happened in east Austin, the latest attack happened in a predominately white part of town. The reward for information leading to the arrest of whoever's responsible for the three explosions increased to a total of $115,000, authorities said earlier Sunday. "We believe that the recent explosive incidents that have occurred in the city of Austin were meant to send a message," Manley said in a news conference."We hope this person or persons is watching and will reach out to us before anyone else is injured or anyone else is killed out of this event," he added.Officials have urged residents to call police with any tips they may have, even if the information seems to be "inconsequential."South by Southwest, the huge film, interactive and music festival, wrapped up Sunday, but a bomb threat was made against it Saturday that resulted in the cancellation of a concert featuring The Roots.

]]>http://germanylatest.com/2018/03/19/latest-austin-blast-may-have-been-triggered-by-tripwire-police-say/feed/0These Austin residents fear that the explosions may be racially motivatedhttp://germanylatest.com/2018/03/19/these-austin-residents-fear-that-the-explosions-may-be-racially-motivated/
http://germanylatest.com/2018/03/19/these-austin-residents-fear-that-the-explosions-may-be-racially-motivated/#respondMon, 19 Mar 2018 18:45:04 +0000http://germanylatest.com/2018/03/19/these-austin-residents-fear-that-the-explosions-may-be-racially-motivated/Three package bombs exploded at homes in Austin in 10 days — one on March 2 and two on Monday — killing two people and injuring two others. Police are considering the possibility they could be hate crimes since the victims were African-American and Hispanic, but they don't have a motive yet. "We cannot rule out hate, but we're not saying it's hate," Austin Police Chief Brian Manley said Thursday.Manley addressed the community at a town hall Thursday in East Austin, where two of the bombings occurred. The event was hosted by the Austin Justice Coalition, a grassroots organization that addresses criminal, economic and social justice."We do feel targeted. Until it happens to somebody that is not a person of color I think that is going to remain the same," Chas Moore, executive director of AJC, said earlier Thursday.Part of that feeling has to do with the victims' identities, he said. It also comes from a rarely acknowledged racial divide in a city known as a liberal beacon in a red state. As more wealthy, college-educated professionals make the city their home, people of color are being pushed out of historically black neighborhoods such as East Austin."Austin is a liberal city but it's liberal to a max," Moore said. "We still have black and brown people who have been pushed out of the east side."Moore and other town hall speakers urged the crowd to focus on healing and to trust law enforcement to handle the investigation. "This moment cannot be something that divides us," said Travis County Democratic Party Chairman Vincent Harding. "This cannot be a white issue or black issue or an east issue or west issue. This must be a human issue, this must an Austin issue for all of us."

Seeking community-based solutions

After the first bombing, police believed they were dealing with a single, one-off incident. But after two more, investigators said they believed all three were related.The second blast was reported at 6:44 a.m. Monday. It killed 17-year-old Draylen Mason, an aspiring doctor and orchestra bassist who was clearly "going places," said neighbor Jesse Washington, who was awoken by the blast."How was that house picked? We're right next door, we've got several vacant homes on the street," Washington said Thursday outside his home. A retired city of Austin code enforcement inspector and Navy veteran, Washington said he is reserving judgment on whether the attacks were hate crimes. But after the last two on Monday, "That question is kind of in the back of my mind," he said."There's a part of me that says it very well could be."People are not necessarily living in fear of the next bombing, Moore said. But they are looking for community-based solutions to preventing another explosion, which is what the town hall is for, he said."Our neighbors are actually strangers, and that's why stuff like this is happening, because we live in a society where if it don't affect me, so be it," he said. "We prevent crime by getting more attached and more connected to one another."

How the incidents unfolded

The explosions left city residents on edge and suspicious of packages delivered to their homes.The packages were placed in front of the residents' houses, Manley said. They appeared to be "average-sized delivery boxes, not exceptionally large," Manley said. None of the cardboard packages was delivered by the US Postal Service or delivery services such as UPS or FedEx, police said. The packages were left in the overnight hours. The first went off on the morning of March 2, killing Anthony Stephan House, a 39-year-old African-American man. He picked up the package outside his home in north Austin. The second occurred inside Draylen Mason's East Austin home. Someone found the package on the front doorstep, brought it inside and tried to open it in the kitchen. Mason's mother suffered non-life threatening injuries.House and Mason had relatives who know each other. House was the stepson of Freddie Dixon, a former pastor at a historic black church in Austin. Dixon and his wife are close friends with Mason's family, according to the teenager's grandmother, Lavonne Mason.The third explosion happened around noon Monday, seriously injuring a 75-year-old Hispanic woman in East Austin. She found the package on a porch and picked it up; it wasn't immediately clear if the woman was the intended target, police said. The package that exploded indoors yielded parts that could be reconstructed, a law enforcement source told CNN on condition of anonymity. The devices were essentially pipe bombs rigged to explode upon opening, the source said. On Tuesday, Manley defended downplaying the first bombing. He said investigators initially believed it was in retaliation against police for raiding a "drug stash house" on the same street a few days earlier. Because the color of the raided home resembles House's residence, investigators believed "they simply got the wrong house," Manley said. He did not elaborate on why investigators believed someone would have wanted to retaliate against a home that police had raided.

How law enforcement is responding

Manley urged the crowd to exercise caution with unexpected packages. He told town hall attendees that Austin police had an "unprecedented" amount of help from the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, with over 300 agents working the investigation.The FBI has taken custody of the evidence, which is on its way to the FBI headquarters in Quantico, Virginia, he said. Meanwhile, investigators continue to follow up on tips. Rewards totaling $65,000 have been offered for information leading to arrests."I know there's someone out there who knows who's doing this," he said. "We have to impose upon them the importance of coming forward." Several people in the audience expressed concerns about potential negative interactions between Austin police and members of the community during the investigation."APD has a poor rapport with the community we're sitting in now," one man said without giving his name. "What are you doing to make sure your officers are sharp and not targeting black and brown men?"Manley assured the audience that his department was working with community leaders to ensure the integrity of the investigation. The president of NAACP Austin urged residents to trust law enforcement as the investigation continues."Stay focused on the families and in due time and due process we're going to get this problem solved," Nelson Linder said.

Jason Morris reported from Austin and Emanuella Grinberg wrote this story in Atlanta. CNN law enforcement analyst Josh Campbell and CNN's Nick Watt, Tina Burnside, Jason Hanna and Madison Park contributed to this report.

]]>http://germanylatest.com/2018/03/19/these-austin-residents-fear-that-the-explosions-may-be-racially-motivated/feed/0Venezuela town issues own currency amid cash shortageshttp://germanylatest.com/2018/03/19/venezuela-town-issues-own-currency-amid-cash-shortages/
http://germanylatest.com/2018/03/19/venezuela-town-issues-own-currency-amid-cash-shortages/#respondMon, 19 Mar 2018 18:45:02 +0000http://germanylatest.com/2018/03/19/venezuela-town-issues-own-currency-amid-cash-shortages/Amid an acute national shortage of banknotes, the town of Elorza in western Venezuela has started issuing its own paper currency.

Local officials said that the currency would make it easier for residents and visitors to trade during the town's festivities, which start on Monday.

They said rampant hyperinflation and a scarcity of bolivares, the national currency, had affected trade in Elorza.

The new currency can be bought at the mayor's office via bank transfer.

'Money doesn't flow'

The paper bills feature the face of independence hero José Andrés Elorza and, like the town, are named after him.

"People don't have bolivares to spend, that's why we have created bills of two denominations… and we've already sold 2bn bolivares worth," mayor Solfreddy Solórzano, from the governing PSUV party, said.

Local businessman Canuto García explained that the town came up with the idea after it noticed that at local festivities in nearby cities "money did not flow".

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"Now those who want to buy just a sweet or even a whole cow from the barbecue, will be able to do so," the cattle breeder said.

Venezuela has the highest rate of inflation in the world. In the year to the end of February 2018, prices in Venezuela rose by more than 6,000%, according to an estimate by the opposition-dominated National Assembly.

Venezuelans have been set limits to the cash they pay out per person per day to 10,000 bolivares, which equates to less than five US cents on the black market.

On the black market, the 2bn bolivares worth of Elorzas sold by the local authorities are equivalent to just under $9,000.

Residents and visitors wanting to buy Elorzas can do so via bank transfer or debit card payment at the mayor's office, circumventing the need to carry wads of bolivares.

Refund offered

The local authorities charge 8% commission but say they will offer a refund for any unspent Elorzas. Traders can take their Elorzas to the mayor's office at the end of the day and have the equivalent in bolivares transferred into their accounts.

Elorza is not the first town in Venezuela to come up with the idea of printing its own money.

In December, the community of El Panal in Caracas launched paper notes called panales which could be exchanged for the rice which the community grows.

Critics of the government of President Nicolás Maduro blame Venezuela's rampant hyperinflation on currency controls brought in by the late President Hugo Chávez 15 years ago.

The government says an economic war waged by "imperialist" nations against Venezuela and hostile business people within the South American country are to blame as well as the smuggling of the currency to neighbouring Colombia.

]]>http://germanylatest.com/2018/03/19/venezuela-town-issues-own-currency-amid-cash-shortages/feed/0Can eco-tourism help Cape Town during its worst ever drought?http://germanylatest.com/2018/03/19/can-eco-tourism-help-cape-town-during-its-worst-ever-drought/
http://germanylatest.com/2018/03/19/can-eco-tourism-help-cape-town-during-its-worst-ever-drought/#respondMon, 19 Mar 2018 16:51:04 +0000http://germanylatest.com/2018/03/19/can-eco-tourism-help-cape-town-during-its-worst-ever-drought/You wouldn’t suspect there was anything odd about the bathrooms at the Cape Grace hotel. Until, that is, you looked inside the tub. There, dangling uselessly from the porcelain, you’ll see a neatly snipped-off inch of chain that once held a bath plug. This plug, along with every other in the hotel, has vanished.

Clues as to their whereabouts were clear enough from the moment our plane touched down. A recorded announcement plays every few minutes on a loop around the airport. “Cape Town is experiencing a severe drought. There are water restrictions in place.” Giant posters at each terminal rally visitors to “save water like a local”, and taps are already turned off in the toilets.

The reservoirs of the Western Cape of South Africa have reached critically low levels. In one hundred and four days, Cape Town will be the first major city in the world to run out of water.

We hadn't bargained on the water crisis when we chose Cape Town for our winter escape, but we had chosen to stay in places that promote sustainable tourism. Given the city’s increasingly dire circumstances, that now seemed like a smart option.

So called “eco-tourism” is the top predicted travel trend for British holidaymakers in 2018. But while green-mindedness might carry connotations of hemp ponchos and roughing it under the stars, it’s the luxury-end of the industry that’s investing in (and profiting from) low- and no-impact travel.

Our first stop was the elegant five-star Cape Grace hotel, set on a private quay next to the newly opened Zeitz Museum of Contemporary African Art (MOCAA) with Table Mountain as its magnificent backdrop. We are politely told that bath plugs have been taken out to save water and that showers should be kept to two minutes, military style. Do all of the guests comply? “Everybody has been very understanding,” the manager tells me, diplomatically. The hotel has also installed a ‘water from air’ machine which, as the name suggests, produces fresh, drinkable water from the atmosphere.

Cape Grace’s ethos is that guests should experience every possible indulgence and that it be achieved sustainably and responsibly, with a positive impact on the local community. From the complimentary wine-tasting with sommelier to a heavenly Kalahari massage in a spa overlooking the waterfront, to the exquisite Cape Malay-inspired five-course tasting menu, the hotel’s mission has been put to the test by the drought but I can confirm we felt, if anything, over-indulged.

A 30-minute drive and a world away from Cape Town is one of the country’s oldest wine farms, Spier. Its four-star hotel was the first in South Africa to be accredited by Fair Trade in Tourism. Surrounded by vineyards, verdant gardens and gabled buildings in the Cape Dutch style, it is an oasis of tranquility.

Foreseeing water shortages, the owners built an eco-treatment plant and now recycle 100 per cent of their water. (You can also, if you like, help conserve water by drinking more of their award-winning wine.)

The luxury Grootbos private nature reserve, close to the whale watching capital Hermanus, has played host to the likes of Brad Pitt, Jude Law and Ewan McGregor. With its own underground spring, the reserve is unaffected by the drought. The view that greeted us as we entered the main lodge took our breath away. Unspoilt, gorgeous heathland rolling down to the Indian Ocean, cradled by mountains.

We opt for a 4×4 flower safari and guided walk through the ancient Milkwood forest with its thousand year old trees. Grootbos lies in the heart of the Cape Floral Kingdom, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its fynbos shrubland with thousands of unique plant species is critically endangered.

The Grootbos foundation runs extensive projects in conservation and transforming local communities. On its community farm, locals learn how to generate income from growing food. Its sports programmes have reached thousands and seen youngsters who grew up in segregated neighbourhoods start playing football together. The South African government has praised eco-tourism such as this as vital for the country’s growth.

It was starting to get dark by the time we drew up at Gondwana Game Reserve. Situated along the picturesque Garden Route, and also blanketed in fynbos, it is the biggest free roaming Big 5 game reserve outside of the Kruger National Park.

The next morning, we awake to mountains in every direction and are greeted by a dazzle of zebras traipsing past the front door of our hut (yes, that’s the collective noun, and yes, they do dazzle).

Guests can stay in the luxury dome-shaped thatched huts dotted around a swimming pool or become immersed in conservation work at the hugely popular tented eco-camp. Working with rangers, guests carry out essential research from tracking lions to helping re-wild cheetahs, to the less glamorous but still important analysing of elephant dung.

Weeks can go by without a lion sighting but on our early morning game drive we struck gold. As we pulled over to watch a lioness, there was a rustle beside us and a rampant-maned lion and his companion emerged from a bush, feet away from our open-topped jeep. They stood, locking eyes with us in a raw, primordial encounter that will be forever etched in my memory.

Later we drive the four hours back to Cape Town, where locals are already stockpiling water. On the radio, people called in to share tips about flushing toilets. Attempting to buy a bottle of water in a supermarket after 9am proved impossible.

Hotel Verde, built on reclaimed wetland next to the airport, is ideally placed for our early morning flight home. It is Africa’s greenest hotel and the only hotel in the world to get a double platinum rating from the US Green Building Council, whose Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design scheme is the most widely used rating system of its kind.

The jewel in the hotel’s eco-crown is its exquisite natural pool, with water filtered through rocks and plants, set among lush wetland. Sitting with a homemade organic smoothie in hand and feet dipped in the pool, it’s hard to believe the airport is a few hundred metres away. Guests are rewarded for eco-friendly efforts such as taking the stairs with ‘currency’ to spend in the hotel. For the more energetic, a gym workout claims to put electricity back into the grid.

Day Zero, when Cape Town’s taps run dry, has now been pushed back to early July, but the message from everyone I spoke with was hopeful. The city wants visitors to come, and eco-tourism is more important to its future than ever before.